Eternal Silence
by Bard the Kiwi
Summary: Colonel Straik is about to achieve what no other hunter has ever done - the successful extermination of the Dalek High Council. But the threat of the mysterious Eternal Dalek - and it's hidden ability - may ruin everything...


Eternal Silence

Colonel Straik smiled to himself at how easy he'd killed Scientist Dalek. Compared to the near-fatal cat and mouse game he'd played with Drone and Strategist Dalek in order to breach the walls of the Dark Tower, this was easy.

Drone Dalek had deployed his Grey Soldiers in the grounds surrounding the tower, but had neglected to guard the catacombs that ran beneath the tall structure, and Straik had almost slipped through undetected. But Drone Dalek had picked up a latent trace of his heat signature, and pursued him personally. Now Straik had almost died, and if it wasn't for a fortuitous shot whilst making a strategic withdrawal, Drone would've rounded the corner and shot him dead. Instead, the detonation of a subterranean fuel store had brought down the cave ceiling, and with it hundreds of tonnes of rock and dirt had crushed Drone Dalek into a flat Kaled.

After that, he had managed to get into the tower while the Grey Soldiers were examining the explosion. Once inside, he hacked into the defence grid, activated a shield around the tower and locked out the army, thus preventing them from getting in to help rescue the High Council. Straik tracked down the four remaining members inside the tower, and began hunting down his prey.

He knew if he managed to successfully destroy the five Paradigm leaders of the new Dalek order, he would gain women and wealth the likes of which he'd never seen. His primary desire, however, was Eternal Dalek. For twenty years the five High Council members were pushing the scourge of the new Daleks empire upon their victims, but only four had known abilities. Eternal Dalek was a mystery; not only in function but in style – Eternal Dalek had never been known to speak. Straik wanted to find out what it was that made Eternal so enigmatic, and more importantly, why.

Strategist Dalek had been cunning, and had laid a trap for Straik. Unfortunately Straik had reprogrammed the internal sensors, making Strategist Dalek believe Straik was in one area when he was secretly preparing another. Straik had in fact laid a trap for Strategist Dalek in a disused storeroom, and after lying in wait to make sure Strategist Dalek followed the dummy signal, Straik triggered the plasma cannons – normally fitted as defensive batteries on Dalek saucers – and Strategist Dalek had been incinerated.

Despite warnings to retreat to the upper level, Scientist Dalek had chosen to remain behind in his lab, half way up the 1200 metre high tower. His vantage point so high above the landscape gave him access to New Skaro's sunlight should he need it for experiments, but mainly, Straik knew, he liked to gaze out over the Dalek citadel through his arched wall-high window and gleam in his own brilliance. Straik decided he would use this to kill him.

Bursting into the room, Scientist Dalek was taken by surprise, and moved away from a genetic gel pack he had been trying to secure in the event he had to leave in a hurry. Or worse.

Straik levelled his weapon at Scientist Dalek and fired. Two pitons embedded themselves deep into the wall either side of the orange Dalek, and a strong cable pulled itself tight, forcing Scientist Dalek back towards the window. The glass shattered as Scientist Dalek hit, but using his levitation he prevented himself from being projected out of the tower.

"You will be exterminated!" it screamed, and activated it's external shielding in a bid to melt the cable. All at once Scientist Dalek detected his systems shutting down. Straik smiled at him.

"Beware cables bearing dampening fields" he said in his strong Denusian accent. Calmly walking up to Scientist Dalek, he saw the Dalek was clearly disturbed, shaking in it's casing. The more it tried to melt the cable, the more energy it lost.

"Keep away!" it screamed. Straik could've played longer but knew he was on a deadline.

With one large push he powered up the muscle enhancers in his arms and torso and heaved the Dalek over the threshold of the window, smiling as he watched it fall around 500 metres to it's death.

Turning back to the room, he saw the experiments the Dalek had been performing. Creatures swam in a tank at the far end of the room, ducking and diving in the thick gelatinous ooze that filled the tank, oblivious to the events unfolding in the dry world beyond.

Straik pulled out one of the two strontium charges he had concealed under his jacket, and placed it near a large bank of what he perceived to be a hive-like structure on another wall. Not wishing to see what the hive contained, he primed the explosive and walked calmly from the room. A minute later, a large explosion shook the tower, and fire began to rise. Grey Soldiers hovered beside the tower, wanting to enter and extinguish the fire to save the remaining High Council members, but Straik's shield prevented them from doing so.

As he activated his phasing shield to mask his rise up the tower, Straik knew he could've ended this quickly by using the remaining strontium charge at the base of the tower and brought the whole thing down. However that would lead to two flaws in the plan; one – he couldn't guarantee the death's of the High Council unless he witnessed it in person, and two – he still wanted to meet then kill the Eternal Dalek in person.

Arriving at the highest point in the tower, Straik slowly climbed out of the service conduit and onto a large platform. Ahead, he could see the white and yellow targets he sought, both of them firing at the shield in a bid to bring it down. Getting into position, he charged his accelerator rifle to a level that would easily vaporize anything in its path and fired at the two Daleks.

The beam passed right through them.

Straik realised he'd been tricked as the two holographic Daleks shimmered and vanished.

"Do not move!" yelled the Supreme Dalek, as he rolled towards Straik from behind him. Behind the Supreme Dalek, Eternal Dalek watched in silence. Straik couldn't help but smile in admiration. He was finally within reach of his target.

"Looks like you got me" said Straik, putting the rifle down.

"You have done well. Not many have progressed as far as you. But you have failed."

The Supreme Dalek powered up and blasted Straik. Unfortunately for the Supreme Dalek, Straik shimmered as the beam passed through him, blowing the grating off the hole Straik had emerged through moments before.

"It is a hologram! He has done the same as-"

The Supreme Dalek exploded as a true accelerator beam struck his casing and tore him in two. Eternal Dalek turned to face the intruder, but a second accelerator beam ripped the gun stalk from his casing.

Calm that all danger was now removed from the room, Straik emerged from a vent shaft high on a far wall, keeping his rifle trained on Eternal Dalek.

"At last" he said. "I've always wanted to meet you."

Eternal Dalek said nothing, slowly gliding away from Straik, never taking his eyes off the rifle.

"I am your destroyer Eternal Dalek. You have seconds to live. Why not explain to me your little secret, yes?"

Eternal still said nothing, instead lowering it's eyestalk to witness the remains of the Supreme Dalek.

"Forget him" said Straik, stepping in between the Eternal Dalek and the remains of the Supreme and was now only a couple of metres in front of the yellow Dalek. "Give me your secret."

Eternal Dalek said nothing.

"TELL ME! I have killed thousands of Daleks to stand before you, I have vanquished entire armies in my desire to be with you. Give yourself to me…"

Eternal Dalek could see Straik was insane. Driven mad by a desire to seek Eternal's own abilities. It decided that now was the right time. Especially as three familiar signals had been detected rising up the outside of the tower. "Daleks are eternal" it said.

Straik took a step back. The voice was female.

"Who are you? How are you even allowed to exist within the Dalek heirachy? You're not a pure Dalek-"

"I was created to protect the Dalek order. I am a Dalek queen."

The very notion caused Straik to let out a small laugh. How could the Daleks have a queen?

"You're lying."

"I have no need to lie. Your love for me is irrelevant."

Straik didn't expect what he was hearing. Then again he thought, he was so blinded by his faith in the Eternal Dalek it would be hard to hear anything else. She _was_ unbelievably amazing.

"Now observe the true power of the Daleks!"

Eternal elevated, and began to generate a yellow energy wave from the half-spheres on her lower casing. Straik raised his rifle and fired at the Eternal Dalek, but the yellow energy was by now creating an impenetrable barrier around it.

Straik watched as atoms glowed and formed around its damaged gunstalk, and within seconds all damage had been repaired.

A wave of energy shot out from the front spheres, hitting Straik in the arm and causing him to fall over. He rolled, and watched as the charred remains of the Supreme Dalek began to rise and reform into its former shape.

Straik knew he had horrible miscalculated the High Council. His desire to get close to the Eternal Dalek was his undoing. He had to stop her.

He rolled and grabbed his rifle, ignoring the pain in his arm. He spun round to target the Eternal Dalek, and froze.

The restored form of the Drone, Strategist and Scientist Daleks stood in his way, protecting the Eternal. Drone Dalek fired at Straik, tearing his right arm off just above the elbow. Straik fell to his knees, clutching at the pain. Even with enhanced bionics running through his veins, he could not mask this much damage to his system.

"You have failed."

Straik slowly turned to see the repaired Supreme Dalek elevate over to him. The others surrounded him, training their gunstalks on him. In the background, the Eternal Dalek landed on the platform and retreated to a back wall. Clearly the efforts of resurrecting her fallen comrades took a strain on her.

"Daleks are eternal" said the Supreme Dalek. "We can not die."

Straik knew this was the end. He was too injured to activate the remaining strontium charge, then again he had no idea if it could even destroy the Eternal Dalek.

"Dalek council… restored" said the Eternal Dalek in a tired voice. Straik could swear he heard the voice was male.

Had he mistaken everything he had heard? Had he imagined the Eternal Dalek's ability? Had he even managed to obtain the small victory he had experienced over the last few hours? He never took his eyes of the Eternal Dalek, who in turn kept it's eyestalk on him.

As the waves of Dalek weapons fire tore into his body and started his disintegration, all he could think of as his brain began to fade into oblivion was the Eternal Dalek.

She was perfect.

She would never die.

And she would be with him forever.


End file.
